Literacy
by Consuelo Higdon
Summary: /Oneshot/ Glyph had always prided herself in reading when other 'bots didn't. But what about the 'bot in front of her that couldn't? /TFA Glyph Jetfire/


The first Glyph thought when she met Jetfire was that he was the exact opposite of Flareup. He was kind and gentle about the way he spoke and did things, and asked a lot of questions. There seemed to be quite a few things that he didn't know about, when she talked about them. Another thing she learned about him was that he was quiet and shy. There didn't seem to be a lot of things he wanted to speak up about, even when she asked him a question.

But this was nice, anyway. Just getting to know each other. She had purposely gone into his room in the Mech's Dorms, wanting to learn about him in the first place. Jetstorm had been in the dorm too, but it didn't take too long for him to respect their privacy and go into their little nook for the berths (a small glance inside told her that they had the equivalent of a bunk-bed). After a bit of conversation, he had asked her what her favorite pastime or thing to do was; leading her to talk to him about her favorite thing to do of all;

"Oh! I love reading! I've been studying in the Autobot Academy for decoding and translation, and there are so many _languages _in the universe to learn! I can read books in Japanese, in English, Spanish, Nebulonian Common, and, of course, Autobot. I think everyone should read more often, anyways; so many 'bots waste their potential! I mean; you're programmed with the ability to read and write; USE IT! You know?"

She looked at him expectantly, and her face fell. Jetfire didn't seem very comfortable; he was fidgeting and wiggling around a little bit, curled up into a vague ball-shape, looking at her sadly. Glyph felt horrible. What did she do? Did she insult him somehow? Was there someone he looked up to that didn't read on a regular basis?

Shame on her! She shouldn't have gone on and insulted an unspecific group of people as though she were better than everyone. She must have seemed as though she was very high and mighty and snobby. She was ashamed of herself.

"Oh, I'm sorry… Did I insult you? Ooh, bad Glyph! I shouldn't have done that! I'm sorry, Jetfire." Glyph reprimanded to herself more than she apologized to Jetfire. He seemed to be a bit better, but that look on his face wasn't one of being consoled. His eyes were wide, his iris shaking slightly and his hands grasping his knees tightly, as if his very life depended on him holding onto himself. As though he would disappear. He was unsure. Afraid.

"You… you is knowing? How?" He finally managed to squeak out. Glyph opted to tell the truth.

"No. What is it? Is there something you need to tell me?" Jetfire curled back into his little ball on his side of the couch. He looked away from her, still unsure, but this time… ashamed? He didn't look very confident right now, more like he had said something he shouldn't have.

Glyph wanted so very badly to know what was going through his processor right now. She wanted to know how to make him feel better. She wanted to know what to do if a mech was exhibiting behavior specific of the common Autobot Femme. She had never been in this situation before. But then again, she was best friends with a femme who exhibited behavior specific of the common Decepticon Mech, so she supposed she had a bit of experience in dealing with 'bots that didn't act like they were 'supposed' to. But that was the reverse of Jetfire, right now. She was an Autobot Femme herself, so perhaps she should treat him like she would another femme? Or would he interpret that as her being discriminating of him and his masculinity?

"Um… Can… Can I be telling you something, Glyph?"

Aw dang. She drifted off-topic again. She really needed to be more organized with her thoughts. But that must wait; right now there was a mech who needed to reveal a secret that she assumed must have been on his chestplate for quite some time. He was taking in oxygen in large quantities at a time, a gesture Flareup must have taught him (which she had taught to Flareup), trying to calm down. The way he looked at her with slightly shaking optics let her know that he was worried about something. He still held his legs close to himself, meaning that he was afraid of rejection. He was ready to hide if danger showed itself. Glyph wanted to make sure he knew that she wasn't a threat.

"It's okay Jetfire. You can tell me." She assured him. She kept her voice smooth and kind, and in a moderately high tone. From what she learned from Blaster, this let something know, on an unconscious level, that the speaker was kind, and came in peace. Jetfire seemed to understand her tone, and loosened his grip on himself a little. He still had his hands on his knees, though. He took in yet another intake of oxygen. Then he told her.

"I can't read."

That took Glyph off-guard. _Very_ off-guard. Reading and writing was protocol, immediately programmed into every Cybertronian in the universe, Autobot or Decepticon. Anyone without programming _that _basic was bound to be insane. But Jetfire wasn't insane. He was just vaguely unaware of his surroundings. He needed to ask questions about things, and he needed help to understand certain things. She had heard from Blaster that he wasn't able to learn in conventional ways like memorization, and had to learn in a different manner entirely.

Every stereotype she had about 'bots that didn't read were shattered. She had thought that they were simply ignorant or impossible. That they refused to read because they felt that they had better things to do with their lives; or they didn't want to 'waste their time' reading when they could do other things like work until they short circuit. She had thought that bots that didn't read were just arrogant and didn't want to have fun in their lives.

She ran up to him and gave Jetfire a hug. She felt so guilty, so embarrassed that she had been so arrogant herself. Jetfire looked at her; confused, is what his eyes said. His lopsided optics told the same story. He was unsure, afraid, confused about what was going on. Glyph only shot him a look that she knew begged forgiveness, and smiled wryly to compliment her optics. She had always looked down upon 'bots that didn't read.

How could she look down on a 'bot that _couldn't_ read?


End file.
